Kiddos July 2025

 

Walking Into A Bar

I was shocked when Meimei sent the photo. And I cannot comprehend how the bruise could look this bad. It seems he and Ana had turned their head to look at something when he walked into a handle bar. Haiz poor kid.  Meimei is thinking about bringing him to the children's hospital but there is nothing I can do to help since I'm in Bangalore. Hopefully it subsides in the next few days.

 

Elixir Haul #28

Got a Courvoisier VSOP for my 2 weeks in Bangalore. 

Gearing Up For Next Round

$35 to boost up my firepower for the next water play. Well worth it in my books. It hurts to be hit by the guns ... both physically and on my ego haha. No more little piss-piss pistol. 

The Beach Is Always Fun

A good day for the beach. The weather was good and there is a nice breeze coming through. The kids are always excited to play in the sand. It's a good experience for XY too. She used to dislike stepping on the sand but now I think she is doing better. We just need to come more regularly. I'm thinking maybe next trip I can bring the scooters and zoom around the park with the kids. We'll see :)

Lazy Afternoon Of Gaming

A terrific day of fun. Water play in the morning and now Mario World mini gaming in the afternoon. Glad Meimei is also a gamer hehe. I'm not too much into mini games so Meimei had to spend more time with the kids. My ego was already bruised in the morning massacre at the pool so I'm not about to subject myself to more humiliation in Mario.

Out-Gunned

I thinks its been 2 or 3 Christmas since 阳阳 first ask about a water gun. He must have seen other kids playing with them at the pools. And boys being boys ... it is surely exciting to be holding a weapon and shooting water to disturb whatever he can.

So recently we bought a set of 2 rifle type water guns. These are pretty powerful and it actually hurts when you get blasted in the face. Well ... I didn't know that before playing with the kids at Ah Gong Ah Ma's pool. Meimei had bought a pistol version and handed it to me to play with the kids.

Obviously I was over-powered and out-gunned by the 2 rascals. I had to complain to Meimei for putting me up to be slaughtered at the water fight. As a consolation at least she got a good laugh at my misery.

Screen Request Through iMessage

This came of the blue. I started receiving iMessages for requests for more screen-time recently. Not sure what happened. I asked Meimei if she changed any settings but she didn't. There must have been an iOS update that brought on this feature.

Man I love it! Their screen requests used to come an a banner prompt. And if Meimei rejected it I couldn't see it and may approve it instead. And we are always trying to recall how much time was already given.

With this new feature where the messages go to both parents through iMessage I can clearly see what was being approved or rejected. The kids were also trying to figure out what this new thing was.

I usually don't agree with the iOS updates that get into the way I do something but this I totally support. What's better than giving parents more control.

Kiddos June 2025

 

Book Haul #1

There was a 20% off all books at Kinokuniya this weekend. So we brought the kids there for a shopping spree. I had my fair share of loot too hehe. 

Work Travels: Making A Cultural Faux Pas

I'm in Bangalore office this week from Tuesday to Thursday. I flew on Monday morning and was originally going to work in the hotel. But the team wanted me in the office to work through some of the blueprint documents so I made my way there right after I arrived and had a quick lunch.

I was going to fly home on Friday morning so we had our team dinner on Thursday night. It so happens that it is one of the team member's Birthday. He was gracious to join us and we invited his wife too to join us as a gesture of thanks.

The team also bought a birthday cake and we sang a song for him. At the end of the song, I started asking him to make a wish and blow it out. Oddly he did not react to me and I repeated myself, thinking he didn't hear me due to the loud music.

It was then that Savita tapped my arm and told me that in Indian culture it is not auspicious to blow out a light. Ohhhhhh Shittt!! I made a boo-boo asking the birthday boy to blow out the candle! I immediately made my apologies and retreated.

I should be more careful to keep quiet and not get into the moment. Better to go with the flow and what others are doing than try to lead them somewhere like what I do in the office. Thankfully all of them are pretty understanding haha.

Sudoku With Ah Ma

I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed 萱萱 playing Sudoku with Ah Ma that I had to catch the moment in a photo. Both of the kids would typically be on the phones at Hillview but somehow 萱萱 had noticed Ah Ma trying her hand at Sudoku and decided to help. It's such a loving moment between Ah Ma and 萱萱.

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 5: Going Home

Our flight was at 2pm so we had to leave the hotel by 11am. We decided to go to the beach again to enjoy the morning breeze and some photo-op moments.

The rest was a rush to try and pack everything before setting off for the airport. Clearing the custom wasn't too difficult and we found a nice restaurant Made's Warung which was close to the gates for lunch. They serve one of the best Gado-Gado I've ever had. Sadly we forgot to take photos of it!

The kids were their usual self, engrossed in playing Pokemon while waiting for boarding time. Overall it was a comfortable place to rest.

All in all a wonderful relaxing holiday. It helped that I switch off all notifications - badges included - for all my work apps.  

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 4: Sunrise & More Pool Time

We were along the east coast so getting up to watch the sunrise is one of the key moments we want the kids to witness. It may sound mundane but they never get to experience it in Singapore.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so we could only get glimpse of the rising sun. Nevertheless it was a meaningful activity. Helps the kids understand the beauty and calm of morning. 

Morning was pool time again. Meimei found a nice spot in the shade with good view of the slides where the kids were playing at. 

We didn't plan for any outing today, just a short trip to the Bali Collection Mall. We walked around for an hour and the kids bought some small trinkets. We ended up at KFC for lunch which is probably the best idea for lunch.

After lunch was more play at the kids club. I stayed in the room to watch YouTube and basically chilled the whole afternoon. Meimei joined them at the club and managed to catch 阳阳 dancing to some video.

Dinner was room service again with delivery add-ons. 阳阳 was so happy about the holiday that he wanted to write a thank you note for the hotel staff. We thought that was a nice touch and Meimei actively encouraged it. Good job 阳阳! 

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 3: Waterfalls & Padi Terrace

Meimei had arranged for a driver to get us around Bali today. Our first stop is to a popular waterfall which has been totally commercialised to the point where there are viewing platforms, restaurants and even an infinity pool facing the waterfall. I suspect the waterfall isn't really natural but that doesn't matter. I'm glad we have a nice cool place to rest after a good hour's trip to get to the place. Lunch was the usual fare catered for western tourists ... which suits our kids perfectly.

After lunch we made our way to the padi fields. I recall being at one years ago and seeing ducks in the water fields. However instead of a spot more authentic our driver brought to a fully purpose-built paid field 'theme park'. It has all the trappings of a full feature park with zip line rides, various tall long swings, attire rentals for that picture perfect shot, restaurants nested nicely on the hillside etc.

We didn't bother going down to the fields. They don't look like they are really grown for food but more as a prop. So we let the kids play on the swing (which are paid rides). They had a blast of a time and that was most important.

By the time we were done it was already late afternoon. We spent more time on the car ride than at any of the spots. But that's how it is with holidays. We are too used to the proximity of everything in Singapore. Anyways we made our way back after the padi fields. Hopefully this little outing help set the pace for future trips.